County budget is in the black

Representatives from Hyzer, Hill, Kuzak & Co. P.C. presented a summary of the 150-page audit report to the Huron County Board of Commissioners Tuesday.

With the exception of legacy obligations, the county finished 2017 in the black.

Coming up short on retirement funding (legacy obligations) is a common dilemma among municipalities throughout the state.

And the county has put millions into trusts and Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) over the past year.

“In 2018, the governing boards of the accounting foundations have decided that government should also show the obligation for (OPEB), just like a pension obligation,” said Don Kusak.

“That’s going to mean that the county will then lose about … $13 million more of net fund balance,” he added. “That’s not something you have to pay right away, but that will be a change next year.”

“I think your net employee health insurance obligations, should everybody retire, is about $17 million,” he added. “You’re going to have about $4 to $5 million invested to cover that. That’s not going to be paid until employees retire and draw medical care.”

The average age of Huron County employees is 44, Kusak said.

“These are obligations that aren’t going to be paid for quite a long time,” he added.

The county faces a $27.7 million net liability for pensions.

The county’s net position was split into governmental activities and business-type activities in a presentation from Tammy Talaski.

Business-type activities include entities such as the Medical Care and Transit funds.

Governmental activities showed a net position of $7.25 million, while the business-type activities’ net position was about $14.2 million.

The total net position, or assets above liabilities, was $21.4 million.

In other business:

• County Building and Zoning Director Jeff Smith presented a timeline for adopting the Huron County Master Plan. The first draft of the plan will be presented to the Huron County Planning Commission at 7 p.m. Aug. 22. Spicer Group will then edit and finalize the document.

Smith said to look for the planning commission's approval at its Oct. 3 meeting, and the board of commissioners can expect to vote on it by Oct. 9. A public hearing before the planners will also take place, and a 63-day review period is required. The board has chosen to have final say on the plan. Smith said he hopes the entire process will be finished by the end of the year.

• The board voted unanimously to contribute $1,500 to the Natural Resource Conservation Service for tire removal.

Grant funds were secured this spring for tire removal, and NRCS officials recorded the number of tires that would be turned in.

Some of those tires were worth more than one unit. Semi tires were worth two units, and tractor tires were worth three units.

NRCS officials underestimated the number of units it would collect and be hauled away in semi trailers.

So some were left over and have been stored by the Huron County Road Commission.

“It was one of those unforeseen things,” said Commissioner Steve Vaughan.

The NRCS needed an additional $1,500 to fund the removal of the remaining tires.

• Safety Chairman John Bodis told the board to expect to vote on a resolution soon to award a contract for deer carcass removal.

The board also:

• Voted to upgrade the county's dog licensing software. This was one of several finance consent actions.